Having used the grainfather for the last 8 months, and I love it. This looks nearly identical at not quite half the price. As far as counter-flow vs immersion chillers, I prefer the counter-flow hands down. I've never really noticed losing any great volume to the counterflow chiller with the grainfather. I think I loose more volume to measuring original gravity.
I have a counterflow on my big system really like it as long a s the water is cold. Only thing missing from this that the GF has is the "architecture" that comes with it. (recipe creator, mobile app etc.) Bare bones it is a nice cheaper alternative if those things don't matter. Thanks for the comment! 🍻
Thanks for doing this video. I have been wanting to see some more on this unit after more beer started selling the robo brew, now I'm curious about controlling mash temps and how the system works can't wait till your next video. Cheers
Cool! I just moved from a house to a condo. Now me going electric is a pain in my arse with the higher power of the condo HOA's . So I need a solution. I look forward to the next video. As far as the un boxing goes . I agree hit the highlights of the equipment point obvious things out and be done with. If it looked like junk or felt like junk sure . If it has something cool you would say it. I like how you are going to move forward with the robobrew in the next video. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Great video mate. Very thorough explanation on all the components. Definitely looking forward to the brew day video and to see how well this would work for appartment dwellers as you have said before. Cheers mate!
Agreed David.. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right! Lol I have a Facebook follower who is local and will let me borrow his GF for a side by side comparison. Your videos will be a great resource to make sure I cover all of the GF features! Cheers David!🍻
I like the idea of these smaller electric breweries and the RoboBrew seems to have a nice price tag on it. My only concern is the 1500 watt power you get from the element. I built a little 2000 watt BIAB and that is slow getting up to boil so that would be a draw back for me. Be interesting to see how your testing goes since we have pretty similar "big" systems.
Yeah me too Tyler.. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it.. Working on editing the brew day footage now.. One time saver is the mash out.. No fly sparging with it really.. Rinse and go. Cheers man haven't heard from you in a bit! 🍻
I definitely looked at this unit but I did end up pulling the trigger on a brewers edge - mash and boil. I've posted 3 videos, from exactly how long it takes to get from 70f to a boil to how it holds a mash temp for 60min. cheers
Those clamps are for the alembic dome and condenser so you can turn the system into a still. I wouldn’t use those clamps on the glass because it can break from them.
I'm using extra 1500W heater after mash to get a quick boiling, after reaching boling 1900w is enough for good boiling. This shortens 15 minutes reaching boiling point.
Could you also set up a grandfather beersmith profile cuz I'm planning on getting one later this year and I have not found a reliable grandfather profile for beersmith yet
Frode Rørvik yes it is serviceable. I did take the bottom off. I was thinking of showing how to take the pump out and clean it.. May still do that. Great question! Cheers! 🍻
I hope you show your viewers how really good the robobrew is. I still like the GrainFather new version, and I don't have to bend over to look at the screen. Plus the new GF have built in blue tooth that I can monitor in my cell phone.
Definitely, I agree the Grainfather has some advantages over this unit. The price is quite a bit lower though. I may have to see if I can find someone to let me borrow a Grainfather to do a comparison. Cheers! 🍻
Brian, I don't want to steal your thunder with the upcoming review. If this entrenches on your review in any way, feel free to delete this comment. As I stated above, I have quite a few of these type brewery's, including the grainfather connect. Here are the main differences I see between the two units. However, temper my thoughts knowing I have never brewed on a RoboBrew. Robobrew Cons: Antiquated control compared to the connect controller. Doesn't include counterflow chiller (some may see this as a Pro) I would say build quality is not quite up to GF (I don't know this for a fact) Grainfather Cons: No handles on unit No handles on lid Pump Bump makes unit not ergonomic COST - Nearly $600 more than RoboBrew If I were in the market, it would be very hard for me to justify the additional cost of the GF right now.
w0wva not at all I appreciate the comment. I actually had somebody on the ROBOBREW Facebook group say that they would allow me to borrow the Grainfather for a side-by-side comparison I appreciate your comments here. I have no allegiance to either brand I just want to review them and see what I think and let other people know so they can make an informed decision.
w0wva something else you didn't mention but that the grainfather offers is the architecture with being able to create a recipes and that sort of thing I don't know if that adds that much value but there are some other things that the grainfather includes that this unit does not, but there again is it worth the extra $600?
Great review thank you Do we have any one out there that can tell me what their Robobrew look like after 12 brews And 24 brews And breakdown or quality issues
There have been some issues mainly with the controller burning out. They supposedly have fixed the issues with a new controller. The 3.1 model is coming out soon with the new improved controller. I would recommend waiting for it to come out and buy from a reputable vendor with good return and warranty handling policies. There have been a lot of people who brewed more than 24 batches on these and the "look" fine. Hope that helps! Cheers! 👍🍻
Travis if you've already started and got a bunch of components I think in the end you'll be pleased with what you're doing quite honestly it is a pretty cool little unit though. It does have some limitations as you'll see in my review coming up soon.
I don't have any experience with the brewers edge. To make it comparable to the latest version of the robobrew would take a little $ but might be slightly cheaper. Whatever works for your situation is what I suggest. I have not heard too much negative about the mash and boil. I need to see if I can get one for comparison. Let me know what you go with Jeff. Cheers! 👍🍻
I bought mine through more beer, had an issue with mine (according to more beer, it's the first of this type that they've gotten with the unit, but every now and then they had similar issues with the gf and bm), and they took ownership right away and said come Monday, they will contact kegking and if they don't have a swappable part to fix it or a way to troubleshoot they will send me a new unit entirely from their warehouse, not from kegkings. I've never worked with Williams but the price is the same right now and morebeer is a larger company who has more pull, that's why I went with them. Just thought I'd pass that along. I like this thing a lot btw. Worth the money for sure
Follow up, brand new robobrew in my hands as of yesterday. they apparently held some back specifically in case of any units with issues. they took about a week to get me a new one due to trying to see if the issue was fixable (it wasnt). If you're interested, my unit had power delivery issues. I could use both elements but then the screen wouldnt work. If i used one, the screen was dim, and if I used the 1000W and pump the screen would also turn off. this is all through power conditioning at an exact 120v confirmed with a volt meter. new one works perfect. I think a week turn around on a brand new product to the US that costs as much as some people's first car is pretty reasonable.
Charles Page Latest video 😉 link in the description.. AND bonus mash profiles plus for to install them.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cdDPnQBFqBo.html
Nice review but the whole thing looks cheap. Thin, too flexible and the drain valve is crooked. Hope it was inexpensive. It certainly cannot compete with the Grainfather
Drain valve I think was twisted in shipping. All the other observations are pretty much on point. It is less then half the price of the Grainfather. So you do get what you pay for. Grainfather is a nice brewing system for sure. Thanks for commenting! 👍🍻
Kendal Saulsberry as luck would have it one of the folks on the ROBOBREW Forum on Facebook just told me he has one near me that we could do a side-by-side with... so I will try to plan that in the near future.
I hope you are open to constructive criticism. I absolutely HATE this type of video. While I really do like the content, these PLEASE TUNE IN TO THE NEXT VIDEO sucks. Where this concept comes from, the season series of TV shows, doesn't apply here and in my opinion has the opposite effect of building subscribers. I'd much rather see "Grain to Glass" (start to finish with no followup) type videos than trying to piece them together in a series while trying to build up hype and interest.
w0wva thanks for the feedback.. I didn't want to put together like a 30 minute long video, but I understand your point and I can take criticism. I certainly hope if more people feel the way you do they let me know.
Great. I've subscribed. As I stated above, just my opinion and I do love the subject matter you discuss. I'm a gear head myself. I love taking complicated tasks and simplifying them. I have three models of the Braumeister, 10L 20L 50L and as you can probably tell they are my favorite brewery, a grainfather and a single vessel system I build back in 2012 that I call Dorthy. It's a 10 gallon system that uses a High Gravity SV controller. Cheers.
w0wva Cheers to you! And thanks for subscribing! I really appreciate feedback. I would much rather you tell me what you told me then just not subscribe and not watch any more of my videos. 👍🍻
Kind of.. But not exactly..the Grainfather has a more robust controller. Along with the Grainfather "eco system" recipe calculator etc. I plan to do a head to head on the two of them in the near future and go over the differences (positive and negative) comparatively. Thanks for watching and commenting! 🍻
It will be coming.. I know someone that is going to let me borrow one. I am trying to get a new model Brau supply single vessel system. Would be awesome to do a comparison on all 3. The new Brau supply system looks pretty sweet.. And is in the same price range as the GF..
Berts Garage not sure? I have not been able to get a grainfather to compare yet. I should be able to hook up with a grainfather soon, and do a side by side comparison. Cheers! 🍻